The Machina War of Destruction
by The Reverse Edge Blade
Summary: this fic is about Lenne and Shuyin during the Machina War between Zanarkand and Bevelle. Please review! this is my first fic in the FF X2 category, so please tell me right away if it sounds damn boring, but please read a few updates, even if you think the
1. Chapter 1: The Two Lovers

**FINAL FANTASY X-2**

**The Machina War of Destruction.**

**Chapter one. **

**The two lovers.**

I was sitting at the dinner table. She'd just finished making dinner, and we were sitting around the dinner table eating spaghetti with meatballs and tomato sauce. She watched how I was sitting there eating her food so gratefully. "This is our life now." I thought happily. I watched her through the candle on the table. She was so beautiful; her long, silky hair, her beautiful blue and green eyes, the either pure green, while the other pure blue. (This is originally the color of Yuna's eyes, so I'm using that, since Yuna and Lenne resemble each other in many ways) And her voice was so musical and sweet. Just by hearing it, I felt like I had not a problem in the world. She made my world and my life perfect and whole. "By the way, Lenne." I asked, after swallowing a mouthful of her delicious spaghetti. (I know we don't really get to know if Lenne is a great cook in the game, but since she loves Shuyin, I thought I'd express that through her cooking skills) "You said you'd written a new song?" She nodded, smiling. That goddess-like smile which made her face seem to shine and look even more gorgeous.

"Yeah, I did. Just finished it, actually. I named it "1000 no Kobota". (1000 Words in Japanese, but I bet you already know that)

Lenne smiled at my approving beam. The beam which always seemed to make her want to hug me. "When are you gonna publish it?" I asked, setting my fork back on the table after I'd finished eating.

"We'll see." She replied cheerfully. She seemed so happy! She looked as if she truly was delighted to be around me! I stood up and went around the table. I stood beside her, and put my arms around neck, kissing her. I loved this woman so much. Sometimes, I wondered what I would be without her, or if I would actually be able to live without my Lenne by my side. I wouldn't lose her for anything in this world.

Later that day, we went out on the street. Lenne held her Summoner Staff, and summoned the Aeon Valefor, so we could take a ride in the night. The stars were sparkling magnificently up there, and the moon looked like a gigantic orb of shining light. We climbed unto Valefor's back, Lenne climbed on behind me, leaning against my back.

I looked down at Zanarkand as Valefor flew higher. All the lights, all the people down there, everything about our hometown appealed to both of us. I turned around so I could see Lenne more clearly.

She was sitting on Valefor's back behind me, looking as if she was peaceful to the point of bliss. She let herself fall on top of me on Valefor, and pressed her body against mine, holding me tightly, as though she was saying. "Don't go, Shuyin! Please, stay with me forever! I don't want to lose you!" I Held her in return, letting my hand go up and down her back, as if reassuring her that I'll always be there. Valefor zoomed through the night silently. It was completely still, with no noise to disturb us. Right now, Zanarkand was an entire world for me and Lenne alone.


	2. Chapter 2: A date in Zanarkand

If you think this is going a little too slow, then please tell me right away. The reason why I made another chapter like this, were they're just being together all the time, like in the first chapter, is because I want to give the story something to go by. Still, don't hesitate to tell me right away if it's not a good idea. Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

**A date in Zanarkand **

I woke up late the next day. Lenne was sleeping beside me with her arms around my waist. I heard cute snores come from her as she breathed out in her deep and peaceful slumber. I stroked her face lovingly. This made her stir a little bit in her sleep, and I withdrew my hand away quickly so I wouldn't wake her. "My Lenne, my dear, dear Lenne. I'll never leave you. I'll always be by your side." I whispered,

I got out of bed and got dressed, carefully without waking her.

"Say, Shuyin, they're gonna have a Blitzball tournament at the Stadium in a week. What'd you say I got us some tickets?" Lenne asked later that day at the breakfast table. We were eating egg and bacon with chips. "Yeah! That'd be great!" I replied enthusiastically.

"I checked out the Blitzball magazine with the coming tournaments. Wanna get some seats in the middle of the first row?" Lenne asked, scanning a Blitzball magazine with dates for the upcoming tournaments and seats that were still unsold. "Cool!" I replied, beaming. Lenne smiled back at me. "Hey, um…..I was thinking that….maybe we could go out after the blitzball match? I was wondering……..if you wanted to go to that new restaurant in the business district? They've got this awesome pizza there." I said a little shyly. For some reason, I've always found it a little hard to ask Lenne out like this. Perhaps because I'm afraid of her asking me if I wanna go out eating 'cause I don't like her food. I don't really understand it, but I've always had that feeling. But of course, this feeling has never been right even once before: "That'd be wonderful! And I could publish that song while we were in that district!" She looked so happy again. Once again, as I watched her smiling happily like that, I got this feeling that I could never have found a nicer woman in my life.

"You've gotta sing it for me, once!" I said. "I love your songs, you know….." Lenne nodded, taking in another mouthful of chips, eggs and bacon. "I will." She said, smiling back at me.

A week later, the day was here. The day I had been looking forward to ever since Lenne mentioned getting tickets.

We got outside, and Lenne called forth Valefor so we could ride on him to the Stadium. We didn't bother to keep a car or anything like that, since Lenne could summon Aeons. The dragon flew down from the sky, it's long, red "hair" on the head blowing behind him due to the speed he held. He landed beside his mistress. And Lenne stretched out her hand and stroked the red feathers on his throat. "Kawaii!" She said happily. I went over to the dragon and patted him on the beak.

"Yeah, he is." I said. "Let's go then." Lenne said, climbing unto Valefor's back. I climbed on in front of her, so she could lean against my back. This had always been the way we'd ridden Valefor together and we wanted it always to be that way.

Valefor soared over the sparkling buildings of Zanarkand. I felt the wind playing with my hair, and felt Lenne's body against mine, her arms around my waist. It felt as if she really didn't want to let go before she really had to. "Shuyin. I've wanted to do go out like this for ages." She whispered gently in my ear. When I hear her say that, I got so happy inside. "Lenne is really happy with me." I thought, letting go of Valefor's back for support, and held Lenne's hand close to me. I didn't want to lose her for anything in this world. I loved her so much.

Valefor landed beside the Blitzball Stadium and we got off his back. We had arrived a few minutes too late, so they'd already prepared the Blitzball Stadium for the match.

We looked up at a gigantic round building which lay open to the sky with no roof. The walls on the inside were completely covered in tribunes. In the middle was a huge water ball. I always got so impressed when I saw it. "Too bad we didn't get to see them prepare the water ball." Lenne said dreamily. "Yeah, but let's just enjoy the match." I said quietly.

"This will really be cool!" I said excited. Lenne smiled at my enthusiasm. "It will, definitely." She said silently. We went inside the Stadium to watch a match between the Zanarkand Abes and some other team I hadn't bother memorizing, since the Zanarkand Abes were my favorite. I handed our tickets over to the guy in the ticket booth, and when he'd cleared them, we went to the tribunes and found our reserved seats. The lights in the Blitzball Stadium went on, lighting it up with an intense light. Blitzball tournament started at last.

"That was really _awesome_!" I said excitedly countless hours later.

"5-4 in the last match! The Zanarkand Abes beat the others by 1 goal."

Lenne smiled at my excitement. "It was good. I've never seen such a good Blitzball match." Lenne said happily. "Shall we go to that place I talked about?" I asked after awhile. "Yeah, that'd be great! Watching that tournament made me hungry." Lenne replied.

She summoned Valefor, and we flew over to the restaurant I'd talked about a week ago.

We flew over to the business district, and Valefor flew lower so I could point out the location of the restaurant. I let my eyes sweep the city below, searching for it. While I was searching for it, I saw all the other citizens of Zanarkand walking among the houses. Sometimes, I could catch some of the things of what people talked about.

A bunch of drunken youths was walking around with a bottle of Sake in their hands, talking loudly about the Blitzball tournament a few hours ago. Then I saw it, a small triangle-shaped building. About two meters tall among all the other skyscraper-sized giants that was the "houses" of Zanarkand. Around on the walls, were circle-shaped windows with colored glass. Over the entrance door was a lighting sign with Japanese letters.

"That's the place!" I called out, pointing down at the small restaurant.

"Oh, how perfectly _kawaii_!" Lenne squealed delightedly.

I smiled at how she felt. She was really happy all the time, when she was with me. That alone, was enough to make me happy around her.

Valefor flew down and landed in front of the restaurant.

We got off his back and went inside the small eating place.

We stood in a small room with small polished chairs made of tree painted with patterns in gold. Opposite of where we were standing, I saw a small counter. On the wall beside the counter, was a menu, listing foods and drinks. I went over to the counter. "Two, please." I said. "Yes, sir. Sit wherever you want." "Arigato." I replied, looking around the restaurant. Me and Lenne were the only customers. Lenne pointed

"Wanna sit beside a window, Shuyin?" "That'd be great!"

We went over to the table by the window and sat down. Lenne was looking around, always with that happy smile on her face. She was always so cheerful. The waitress came over to our table with a couple of menus in her hand. She laid them on our table. "Excuse me?" I asked her before she could go away. "We've already decided. We were thinking of that pizza you've got here, the one with beef and tomato sauce.

"Alright. What would you like to drink?" I looked at Lenne. "I'll have a coke, please, without sugar." "I'll have the same." I said.

"Understood." The waitress went inside the kitchen.

We sat in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company. "By the way, Lenne?" I said after awhile.

She looked at me, wondering what I was gonna say. "You know…..I've always wondered a little bit…..Where are the other Summoners? Well, I know there are lots of you, and all, but it really looks like the others are hiding somewhere in Zanarkand until they're supposed to be needed." Lenne thought for a moment before replying.

"I suppose they're just living normal lives, like me. Just like all other Zanarkandians, they live normally, without really calling they're aeons any more than they have to. I think I'm the only one who uses them for transportation, really." "But then, isn't there a great chance people have seen us on Valefor all the time?" I asked, wondering and worrying if our "private time" together when we'd taken a flight on Valefor yesterday night hadn't really been private at all. "Yeah, probably." Lenne said causally. "You're not…..well…..worried?" I asked a little confused Lenne smiled. "It's just us. The rest are just people we don't know. All they barely see from down there are two people on a flying dragon. It's not like they can see the things that's between us, Shuyin. They cannot see what we think and feel about each other. And as long as we can keep our feelings for each other between the two of us, then isn't it alright?" I looked into her eyes. I could tell she was taking me seriously and was being completely sincere with me. I knew that just by looking into her eyes. "Yeah, Lenne. It's alright." I said calmly.

About an hour later, we were standing outside the tiny restaurant. Lenne summoned Valefor so we could have a nice little nighttime flight before we went home. We mounted the dragon, and he took off, flying across the starlit sky. The wind in my hair, Lenne's arms around me and Valefor's soft, feather-covered head. I loved these flights. I knew Lenne felt the same way. Every time we took night-flights like this on Valefor, we both felt like we were alone together in our own world. It didn't matter to me that other people could see us, as long as we were happy together. I wanted it to always be like this.

I wanted us always to be happy. But sometimes, I just couldn't stop myself from wondering: "What if it would one day end? What if Lenne died, and I was forced to live on alone? Or what if both of us were killed, and we both lost everything in life?" Sometimes, I just couldn't stop myself from thinking such tormenting thought. And yet, even though I knew I could talk to Lenne about it, I never did.

I was too scared of the thought to give it words. Perhaps I was afraid it would come true if I told someone. I couldn't explain it. I just knew that to lose my Lenne, was the one thing I really feared in life.

That was all I knew for sure, when it came to that feeling. I turned around on Valefor so I could see her.

"Lenne, please, don't leave me." I said, hearing how pleading my voice sounded. She looked at me surprised. "Why would I ever leave you?" She asked, she had an anxious look upon on her face. "I cannot live without you…..just…..stay with me……please." I looked into her eyes as Valefor soared across the sky. They looked so sad. Perhaps it was because she saw me like this. "Shuyin…..I love you more than anyone, how could I ever even dream of leaving you?" "That's not what I meant. It's not like I'm afraid of you abandoning me to find someone else. It's just……I don't want you to…" I couldn't say the words. I was too scared. I was really terrified of that feeling.

Lenne put her lips gently against mine, holding it long and closing her eyes as she held it. At last she broke the kiss, looking at me with a soothing expression in her eyes. "Shuyin…..Please….don't be afraid of such things. I'll never leave you." She whispered. She held me tightly, knowing I was in great pain and that only she could help me.

"Want me to sing "1000 No Kobota for you?" She asked. I nodded.

Lenne waited a few moments, closing her eyes, before she began to sing.

kimi no kotoba wa

yume no yasashisa kana

uso zenbu oikakushiteru

zurui yo ne

tabi datsu kimi ni

sameta senaka misete

kitte ita yo

hitori tatakau no

zurui yo ne

kaete kuru kara

oikoshite yuku kimi no koe

ijihatte tsuyoi furi toki wo modoshite

sakebeba yokatta

ikanaide to namida ko wo shitara

ima wa dekiru donna koto mo

ienakatta sen(1000) no kotoba wo?

harukana kimi no senaka ni wo kuru yo

tsubasa ni kaete

ienakatta sen no kotoba wo?

kizutsuita kimi no senaka ni yorisoi

dakishimeru

yume no tsuzuki wa

kimi wo omoi nagara

ano hi no koto

wasureta furishite

zurui yo ne

tegami wo kaku kara

shisen sora shita kimi no koe

ijihatte tsuyoi furi toki wo modoshite

okoreba yo katta

matenai yo to kata wo otoshitara

ima wa dekiru donna koto mo

kikoeteru sen no kotoba wo?

mienai kimi no senaka ni wo kuru yo

tsubasa ni kaete

kikoeteru sen no kotoba wo?

tsutareta kimi no senaka ni yorisoi

dakishimeru

ienakatta sen no kotoba wo?

la la la la

kimi no senaka ni wo kuru yo

tsubasa ni kaete

kikoeteru sen no kotoba wo?

la la la la

kimi no senaka ni yorisoi

la la la la la

I lay my head on her chest as she sang, and she put her arms around me. I listened to her voice with such love for her I could hardly bear it. My Lenne, she was everything to me. I felt the feeling of fear fade away….. I fell asleep then, as Valefor flew back to our home.


	3. Chapter 3: Night of Despair and Happines

This chapter has some sex in it, making me wonder if the rate "T" is suitable. It's not at all the worst you can find at fanfiction, but still. Feel free to e-mail me if you've got anything to say about this chapter.

**Chapter Three**

**A night of despair and happiness**

I was running as fast as I could along a dark corridor. I had to find it.

It was the only way I could save my Lenne, the only way it wouldn't come true. I ran along the dark corridor until I saw two double doors in front of me. Across the doors, there was three words in blood-red: "Do not enter". I took a deep breath, and stretched out my hands to open them. My hands were repelled by an invisible barrier. "I won't let this stop me." I thought. I took the long sword on my back out of its red holster. I lifted the sword, and sliced the doors in two, four and six parts, just to let out my feelings towards those bastards.

I was standing on a balcony-like platform in a gigantic room. The ceiling was too high to even be seen. When I looked up, I saw nothing blackness. I looked ahead of me. I was awed by the sight.

An enormous Machina stood before me. It looked more like some kind of fiend than anything else. It was built with legs, feet, torso and head. The "face" of the gigantic, fiendish was what grasped my attention the most. The "eyes" of it were nothing but dark holes.

The gigantic monster sent shivers down my back. It was as if the very definition of "terror" stood before me, looking at me with those holes. "I never thought mankind could ever build anything so horrifying." I thought, looking at the monster in paralyzed fear. "Surely, this must be able to save my Lenne." I walked over to the end of the balcony, looking at the Machina's face. It just stood there, as if it was waiting for me to say something, or waiting for me to do anything at all.

I looked up at the gigantic Machina, taking in every detail of it.

The monster must've been about fifty meters tall or something, at least it looked like it. I took a deep breath. "You know, you're all I can count on to save Lenne"

Suddenly, I heard an alarm go off somewhere in the room.

Red lights blinked, and the sound of the alarm filled my ears with a penetrating sound. I turned around slowly, and faced whatever could've found me.

I woke up with a start, looking wildly around me. The first thing I saw was Lenne, sleeping beside me with her hands around my waist. I sat up in the bed and looked at my shaking hands. I breathed fast, and felt as if I had never been more frightened. I looked down at my pillow. It was drenched in sweat. I let a hand go through my hair. It was wet from the sweating. I put my hand down, trying to calm myself, waiting for my heart to stop pounding so fast, and my breathing to go back to normal. I looked at the watch on the bedside table beside of me. It was two pm. "What was that? That was just so……so _real_!" I thought, looking down at my hands, which were still shaking violently.

I clenched them into fists, trying to stop the shaking. "I've never had a dream like that before." I looked down at Lenne again. Her hands was still encircled around my body, tight, as though a part of her was still awake, and was telling Lenne she mustn't let go of her lover.

"Lenne," I whispered, shaking her gently. Lenne opened her eyes. The moment she saw me, her eyes overflowed with love and warmth.

"Shuyin……I love you." She whispered passionately. I bent down and kissed her, a little more needy than usual. I heard moans of happiness escape her as I held the kiss, pulling her closer, and letting my hands find their way inside her pyjamas to the breasts, fondling them gently. Lenne moaned harder. I looked into her face which was filled with excitement. She took off her pyjamas and pressed her body against mine, making her boobs squash against my chest. Lenne moaned harder than ever. She kissed me with her tongue. I felt it inside my mouth, how it made contact with my own, exploring.

She broke the kiss, looking at me as if she was saying: "I want you so much". "Lenne, I need you." I whispered. Lenne put her arms around my neck, looking at me with loving eyes. "Shuyin…..You don't have to be afraid. You don't have to hesitate. I'll always be yours." I looked at her gratefully. I couldn't find words for how much she meant to me. "Lenne…..I love you so much" Lenne looked even more excited as I said this. "Please, Shuyin…..Let me give you what I can give you.. Let me make love to you, please." I lied down on my back, and Lenne lay on top of me, kissing me endlessly. I'd never felt such bliss before. This was better than anything. She wanted to give me what she could give; she wanted to satisfy my sexual desires. I wasn't going to stop her, I loved her too much.

Some time later, we were lying on the bed completely naked with our arms around each other. We'd stopped kissing; we just lied there, enjoying the feeling of our bare skin against each other, our calm breath against each other's faces. I looked at Lenne, feeling such joy I could hardly bear it. "Was I able to give you what you needed?" She asked in a calm voice. I nodded. The feeling of terrifying despair from the nightmare was long gone. "Lenne, you are always there for me, thank you." I whispered. She smiled at this. "1000 no kobota is about my feelings for you, Shuyin. Was I able to prove that?" I nodded again. "Lenne, you're so beautiful." I let my hand go up and down her naked back. Lenne moaned as I did it. She really looked like a part of her was really satisfied with something, though I couldn't explain what it was; I just knew she enjoyed it. Lenne looked at me, and pressed her body against mine. "Are you still afraid that I'll leave you?" I pondered my answer before replying. I had woken her up because I needed the comfort I knew only she could give me. Now, though, it was hard to talk about the feeling that I was so scared of. "Sometimes, yes. Sometimes that feeling is so penetrating, that I am afraid it will destroy me, but after you gave me what you said you wanted to give me so much, that feeling faded away."

"Good." Lenne kissed me, pressing my body against hers, trying to give me more of her. Suddenly, she whimpered, and I broke the kiss immediately, afraid I'd done anything that had hurt her. "What is it?" I asked concerned. Lenne breathed fast, her eyes filled with the same excitement as before. And I understood what had happened. I put my hand down to her core, and put two fingers in it, rubbing it gently. I felt how my fingers got covered in her juices, but I didn't care.

Lenne moaned again, her body went all slack from ecstasy, her eyes wide from the sensation. She whimpered as my fingers continued to rub her core and looked at me as though she was saying "please, give me more". I understood one thing for sure:

I could make her happy with this, and that was reason enough for me to do it. I wanted to do anything to make my Lenne happy, and if it included something like this, I'd do it. I rubbed on, and Lenne continued to moan and whimper in ecstasy. "I won't tell you about the nightmare, Lenne, not now that you are so blissful." I thought, looking at Lenne with loving eyes. She looked happy in a deeper, far deeper way than I'd ever seen her. "I love you." I whispered, as I continued to rub her core. She looked at me, her eyes full of emotions I couldn't quiet understand right then, but I could tell she was feeling truly happy. I stopped rubbing, and we lay there, with our arms around each other like before. After awhile, we fell asleep. The happiest couple in Zanarkand.

I woke up by the feeling of sunlight on my face. I looked at Lenne, who was still sleeping peacefully, but she was holding her arms around my naked body with a firm grip, nonetheless. I looked into her face. She looked so peaceful, as if she had not a trouble in the world.

When I watched her sleeping like this, I really felt sad and actually ashamed that I felt a need to tell her about that nightmare. Even now, after our night together in bed, I felt a need to tell her. I thought the feeling had gone away, but no. it was still there. I swore out of feelings I couldn't quiet place. I just knew that right now, I really felt angry because of that feeling. "Why do I always get this feeling when I'm with Lenne? Why cannot I feel as free as her?" Those questions had no answer, and I felt even angrier at this. I didn't look away from my Lenne. I wanted to watch over her until she woke up. I was afraid something would tear us apart if I didn't.

At last, she opened her eyes and looked at me with that familiar loving gaze. "Good morning." I said.

She smiled the same warm smile she only smiled for me.

"Now that I think about it, I've never thought about that before, how Lenne has expressions she'll only let me see." I thought.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked. Her voice was calm and relaxed.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Lenne's face broke out in one of those happy delighted smiles she always wore when she really got happy around me. "How about we got up and I made us breakfast?" She asked in the same calm, relaxed voice. "Yeah, that'd be great." Lenne smiled and kissed me, before she got up and got her clothes on. I went out bed too and got dressed. The sun shone through the window to our room, as if telling me that I really had no reason at all to be afraid. Lenne went out of our bedroom, and into the kitchen. I followed her, after being brought back from my own thoughts. Lenne went over to the fridge and took out the ingredients for omelette. "Could you start making the beef, Shuyin?" She asked as she went over to the oven and turned on the biggest hotplate to warm up the frying pan for the eggs. I took out plates and cups and lay them on the table. "Sure!" I replied cheerfully. Lenne went over to the now hot frying pan, opened the eggs with a small knife, and let the egg yolk fall into frying pan.

After awhile, the whole house smelled of Lenne's omelette.

About half an hour later, we sat at the table eating breakfast.

Lenne watched me eating the food we'd made together. She looked like she was happy about something, though I couldn't really understand what it was. "Say, Shuyin. How about we take a flight on Valefor after breakfast?" I swallowed a mouthful of omelette before replying. "That'd be great!" Lenne smiled, watching me through the candle we'd lightened before eating. "Yeah, definitely." She agreed.

"Lenne, I may not get another chance to tell you this, if I don't tell you soon." I thought sadly. "Though it'll really hurt to tell you something like this. To really tell you how terrified I am of that feeling." Lenne must've noticed I was thinking about something which made me sad, but she didn't say anything. Apparently, she thought it'd be best if she let me tell her myself. In that instant, I felt the atmosphere in the room change. Suddenly, it was really heavy, and it felt as if I couldn't talk about anything with anyone, because I wasn't brave enough to tell anyone around me how I felt. Lenne noticed how I felt. She got up from her seat, and went over to me. She put her arms around me and held me tightly. "Shuyin. My Shuyin, I'll always be there for you. You don't have to tell me what's wrong before you're ready, but remember this: I'll never leave you."

I closed my eyes and let her hold me. I put my arms around her in return.

"Thanks, Lenne. It means more than I can put into words."

There were thousands of things I wanted to tell her, thousands of words which wouldn't come out. I just knew one thing for sure right now: Lenne was everything to me. She was my world, and I could definitely never live without her.

Some time later, we were flying across the sky, over the city of Zanarkand. As usual with Lenne behind me, leaning against my back. I looked down at the Machina city below. People were running among the towering buildings as usual, this city never slept. It was always so full of life. I turned around so I could see Lenne more clearly and talk to her.

"Lenne, there's something I want you to know." I began. I had a serious and depressed look on my face. I heard how this was reflected in my voice. Lenne looked at me, the same anxious look she always wore when she knew I was suffering. "The reason why I woke you up last night….." I paused, taking a deep breath before I went on. It was so hard to tell her, and I was so afraid of that feeling; that feeling of losing my Lenne. "Was because I…..needed something I knew only you could give me. I was in great pain, and I knew only you could ease it." Lenne nodded. "I knew that much, Shuyin. That's why I asked you if you were still afraid I would leave you one day."

I nodded, and went on. "I woke up from a terrible nightmare I had. It was……a nightmare about my fear of losing you." I paused, closing my eyes, and trying to stop my body from shaking. It had started the second I mentioned the nightmare. I went on, looking into Lenne's beautiful green and blue eyes. "In that dream, I was running along a dark corridor. I was searching for something. A way to save you from that feeling I had inside me that told me you would die, if I didn't

find what I was searching for." Lenne looked at me, her eyes starting to look anxious to the point of desperation. "I ran along the dark corridor until I saw a gigantic door in front of me. On the door, was the message in blood-red: "do not enter" I had this huge sword on my back, and used it to cut the door open. As I chopped the door up, I felt a terrible hatred towards someone I knew caused you great pain, but I cannot remember who it was." I looked at Lenne again. She was on the verge of tears from seeing me like this. I went on. "When I was inside the room, I saw something……something which paralyzed me with fear." I paused again, trying to recover from the great effort it was telling her this. Lenne looked at me, her eyes were now big with fright. Hearing about this dream made her terrified as well. "I saw a Machina in front of me. It was about fifty meters tall or something, but the only thing that made it look like a Machina, and not a fiend, was because I could see that humans had built it. It was built completely with feet, legs, torso, arms and head. The part of the Machina that caught my attention the most was its monster-like face.

It had no eyes. No pupils, or anything, only gigantic, empty dark holes. Those eyes, they were like the very definition of "fear", itself.

It was as if they symbolized that feeling I was about to get overwhelmed by. And I thought that, if anything could save you, it would have to be this gigantic fiendish Machina. I went over to it and spoke to it. I said: "You know, you're all I can count on to save Lenne." After I'd said that, the whole room was engulfed in red light, and I heard an alarm go off. It was so loud. I have never heard anything so penetrating, Lenne. It was terrible. It was as if the sound didn't come from an alarm somewhere, but from the Machina in front of me, as though it was screaming. I turned around in the intense red light around me, and faced whoever had found me. Then I woke up."

I took a deep breath. It felt good to get it out, but at the same time, it made me uneasy. Would anything happen, now that I'd told her?

"Shuyin……it was only a dream, you don't have to worry about it." Lenne said, though her eyes were big with fright, and her voice was trembling slightly. "Lenne, I don't want to lose you." I held her, refusing to let go. I wouldn't let anything happen to her. "I cannot live without you, Lenne. Without you, I would have nothing." I said shakily. Lenne held just as tightly in return. "Shuyin, please! Don't let such thoughts haunt you! It destroys me!" She looked at me, her eyes shining with tears. "Please, don't be afraid of such things. Just…..don't be afraid." I held Lenne, letting my hand go up and down her back in a soothing motion. "Lenne…..thank you. But I just cannot stop feeling that way, because I love you so much. I'm just so afraid of losing you."

Valefor flew silently over Zanarkand. The sun had retreated behind a dark cloud. It felt colder, and a great shadow had fallen over Zanarkand. "Let's go home, Lenne." I whispered, holding her tight.

She nodded, wiping her eyes. Valefor changed course, heading home.

"I'm sorry, Lenne. It really pains me to tell you something like this." I said silently. "I want to know how you feel. I want to know if you are in pain, Shuyin, even if it's painful to me." She replied. "Don't be ashamed, Shuyin. You know I'll always be there for you."

Lenne didn't let go until Valefor arrived at our home.


	4. Chapter 4: Bevelle's sudden attack

There, now it's starting. Sorry if the other chapters were full of meaningless shit, I suppose the answer to that would be the usual "wanted to give the story something to go by" again. Well, enjoy!

**Chapter Four**

**Bevelle's Sudden Attack**

Later that day, we didn't let each other out of our site. When Lenne went somewhere, I always made sure I was right behind her, so I could be there for her if anything happened. It was the same with Lenne, she didn't let me out of her sight for longer than a few minutes at a time. Apparently, the story I told her about the nightmare had shaken her too. I had never seen her like this. She was so jumpy. And every time she heard a sound coming from somewhere (which happened often) she jumped, and ran to my side, making sure I was there. It was really just like that.

Something had happened between us, something which really had changed our lives into something I never thought it could be. "Please, let us go back to the way it was." I thought. We were sitting around the table, eating supper. I looked at Lenne. She was sitting there, eating her tomato soup in silence, occasionally casting quick glances across the table in my direction, as if she wanted to make sure I was still there with her. She looked so miserable. The usual cheerful and happy Lenne I knew had just gone some place where I couldn't find her. She was gone. "But then again, nothing has really changed with the way I feel, its Lenne's behaviour that has changed so much. She told me she wanted to know, but now I wish I hadn't told her anything. Damn you, Shuyin. Why did you have to cause the woman in your life so much pain!" I thought angrily. Apparently, Lenne could see I was angry about something, because she went over to me and put her arms around me again. Although she'd done it thousands of times before, I could sense that something had changed in her. Lenne had lost the ability to make me feel better when I was feeling down. She could no longer give me that comfort by holding me like this. I could sense how anxious she was. Her hands trembling slightly as she held her arms around me. I could see now that the reason why she held me like this was because she needed comfort and the reason why was because of that feeling we now both had. Lenne was begging me to give that to her. Now, she needed comfort as well, the same way I had always needed it, She was holding me, hoping that I could give that to her. I held her, without knowing what to say. For once, none of us knew what to say to make the other feel better.

I took her hand, and guided her into our bedroom. I was hoping that I could make her happy again. Happy the same way I had once known for sure that I could make her happy.

Early the next day, a man I had never seen before stood outside our house, knocking on the entrance door with a big gloved hand. He was dressed in a black and blue uniform. He wore a hat in the same colours on his extremely big head. He looked like he could be from the police, or something. We sat at the breakfast table, eating what Lenne was spirited enough to make. Lenne put down her slice of bread and cheese, and went over to the door. She had a serious look on her face, as if she was expecting trouble. I got up from my seat quickly, and followed her. Lenne opened the door.

"Is there a problem?" She asked. "What the heck? Does she know this guy or something?" I wondered confused. _I _had never seen him before.

"Yes, Lady Lenne." The man said seriously, getting straight to the point. "As you know, we at the Summoner Office always keeps track of where all our Summoners are by the help of satellites, in case of an emergency. (I know we don't get to know that in the game, but I need to fill the story with something) We just received a signal from one of the summoners who lives in the northern outskirts of Zanarkand, telling us that the Summoner in question was attacked by a group of Machina from the city of Bevelle." Lenne's eyes widened in shock, she gasped out in horror. "Where is the Summoner now?" She asked thunderstruck. "The Summoner died in the ambush."

Lenne fell silent, looking down at her feet. She looked like she didn't know what to say. "And what are you going to do?" She mumbled.

"The Summoner Office has decided to send all the summoners of Zanarkand to the frontlines and fight against Bevelle's Machina. We'll be expecting every summoner of Zanarkand to report the Office in two days."

Lenne nodded, looking down at her feet. She looked like she really didn't know what to do about anything at the moment. "We'll be expecting you." The man in the uniform said. Then he left, walking quickly down the street, probably to the next house that was inhabited by a summoner.

"What was that about?" I asked at once, when Lenne had closed the entrance door behind her, and had sat down beside the kitchen table.

"A man from the Summoner Office." She replied shortly.

"I'd figured that much out myself, Lenne." I said impatiently.

"What did he want?" "Didn't you hear him? He wants all the summoners to report to the Summoner Office, so we can defend ourselves against Bevelle." We sat in silence at the table for a few minutes after this. After awhile I broke the heavy silence stretching between us.

"How can you speak so calmly about you going to fight against a whole bunch of Machina from Bevelle? We all know that goddamn Machina city over there is full of corruption, war-mongering, and……and all kinds of other bullshit. Bevelle is the leading city in Spira when it comes to all kinds of Machina, Lenne. How can you be so calm about this?" I took a deep breath from the rush of words coming out so fast. "Who says I'm calm?" She asked, her voice rising as well. "It's not like I want this, Shuyin!" I looked sternly at her for a long time. She looked back at me without backing down. I had never seen her like this, so angry, so hard. It scared me to see my Lenne this way. I just couldn't bear it. After awhile, I spoke again.

"Lenne, I'm sorry. It's just……I lost my temper for a second. Forgive me. It's just that…..I don't want to lose you, especially not in a Machina war." I said ashamed, referring to the nightmare I had. "I know, Shuyin. I feel the same way. I'm not angry at you, or anything. I told you, didn't I? I'll always be yours." Something leaped inside me once Lenne said that. I felt happier than I had felt in what felt like ages. Lenne, as always noticed how I felt. She smiled at that I had gotten back to my own self. "How about you?" I asked. Lenne's smile widened. A smile I recognised. The smile she always wore back in the old days. "Me too." She replied happily. The happiness we had always known before were back, hopefully for longer than a few moments.


	5. Chapter 5: A painful parting

Please tell me right away if you think that anything about this chapter isn't appropriate. I've let Shuyin become a little needy in this chapter, thinking that since he loves Lenne, and decides to use Vegnagun to save her in the game, he would get like that if something happened that parted him from Lenne. But please don't hesitate to tell me right away if it's not a good idea. Enjoy!

**Chapter Five**

**A painful parting**

The next day, we saw on the news that there had been more Machina ambushes on the outskirts of Zanarkand. I and Lenne were sitting in the living room, watching the news on the wide-screen TV on the wall. Lenne sat herself closer to me and took my hand in search of comfort. I watched as the guy on the screen talked about how tenths of civilians lost their lives. Bevelle had done it all just to get the one summoner who lived in that district. The news were that Bevelle had bombed place were they had known that the summoner lived. As Lenne heard this, her hand started shaking. I held it tighter and looked at Lenne, unable to say anything. "I won't let them get you, Lenne." I thought, worried that to say it would just make her feel worse, somehow.

Later that day, we were flying over Zanarkand on Valefor. For the first time when I looked down from Valefor's back, I could see no people down on the street. Apparently, the news that Bevelle were attacking had frightened the citizens of Zanarkand into staying inside their houses. It really felt…..I couldn't find any other word for it: _strange_. It felt just so extremely _strange_ to see Zanarkand so sleepy, and I and Lenne were so used to our city being so full of life. A Zanarkand that never sleeps. Suddenly, it was totally different.

"Hey, Lenne. Do you think it looks weird to see Zanarkand like this?" "Yeah, it really looks just so sleepy I can hardly bear it." Lenne replied sadly from behind me, clinging unto my back as usual. Not that we could solve anything just by complaining, but somehow it helped ease the pain we felt over knowing that Zanarkand was about to go to war with another city.

"Shuyin." Lenne said suddenly after awhile. We were still flying on Valefor. "What?" "Do you think that…..that we can make it through this?" I turned around on Valefor and looked Lenne in the eyes.

I didn't know if I would ever see her again if she went to the frontlines to fight Bevelle's Machina, but I knew one thing: I would do anything to save her. If it included sacrificing my life for her, I would do it. I wouldn't let anything happen to my beloved Lenne.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Lenne." That was all I could think of saying. Lenne smiled her warm smile again, and put her arms around me in a tight embrace. I could tell, by the way she hugged me, that what I'd just said, really meant a lot to her. "Thank you." She said. I held her, and didn't let go until Valefor returned to our home. I wasn't sure how much more of this anxiety I could take. But my resolve burned even fiercer. "I won't let those bastards hurt you, Lenne." I whispered.

The day had come, the day when Lenne had to leave for the frontlines. A day, which, perhaps could be the last day I ever shared with her.

I was fighting back urges to shout "Lenne, don't go! I need you!" the whole time. We were standing in the entrance door, hugging each other for what would probably be the last time.

"Shuyin, don't be afraid. I'll come back." I nodded, holding her tightly, refusing to let go. (As always) "Lenne, I won't let you die. I'll find a way to save you." I said with a voice quiet unlike my own.

"Shuyin…..please! Just live, and wait for me to come back to you!"

Lenne wouldn't let go either. "Oh, a thousand words call out through the ages. They'll cradle you, turning all of your lonely years to only days." She whispered in my ear. I smiled, as I recognised the last part of "1000 no kobota". Lenne smiled at me. She kissed me, holding the kiss long, trying to give me some of her before she left. "This kiss will probably be the last I'll ever receive from her." I thought, and an unbearable sorrow filled me then. Lenne broke the kiss, looking into my eyes with the same loving gaze she had had when we lied in bed together that night which seemed so long ago. "I'll return, Shuyin. Don't worry." And with that, she left me.

I'd never imagined that something like this could ever happen to us.

I ran to a window in the living room, hoping to get one last glimpse of her as she soared across the now sleepy city of Zanarkand. But all I could see when I looked up at the sky was a storm with dark clouds sending bolts of lightning and icy cold rain over my hometown.

I stood like that for a long time, looking up at the sky without really seeing it. I was thinking about Lenne and the life we'd had together, before all this started. I felt how the familiar feeling of fear for losing Lenne overwhelmed me completely.

She was going out to fight in a Machina war, and all I could do was watch, helplessly, without any means of protecting the only woman I loved. "There must be some way I can save you, Lenne!" I screamed out aloud in desperation, but no one heard me, Lenne least of all.

A few painful days later, when I went to bed, I felt nothing but a terrible emptiness inside of me, robbing me of all my chances of sleeping. It had been like that ever since Lenne departed. Oh, it was so painful! There was no woman by my side to make love to me. Since Lenne left me for the frontlines, I could no longer feel the warmth of Lenne's naked body against mine in the night, when we lay in bed. I lay there alone now, staring up at the ceiling without managing to fall asleep. Image after image of my life with Lenne flashing before my eyes. "My dear, dear Lenne, please come back alive." I whispered. I lay there for endless hours. The loss of Lenne's body tortured me emotionally beyond imagination. I missed her. I wanted her so much. Even after just a few days without Lenne, I felt this way. Perhaps it had something to do with that she'd just gone to war to fight against Bevelle's feared Machina. I thought back on the night we'd had together in bed.

I remembered her face, so blissful and completely relaxed when I had rubbed her core.

I remembered how she'd told me: "Please, don't hesitate. I'll always be yours." And I remembered how I'd feared losing her, even while we lay in bed together. Now, I had no one to lie in bed with. My Lenne had left me, leaving a gigantic hole in my heart when she left. The moment Lenne went out of the door, I felt as if a part of myself got ripped to pieces. Lenne was my world. Without her, I had nothing. And now, she'd left me. I turned my head and looked at the side where Lenne slept. It was so indescribably painful not to see her sleep there, so peacefully, with her arms locked tightly around me. I put my arms around myself. I missed Lenne's arms around me in the night so much. It was all that I could think about. "This is the worst night I've ever experienced." I thought miserably, just staring up at the ceiling.


	6. Chapter 6: Shuyin's Journey

**Chapter Six**

**Shuyin's Journey **

The next morning, I was still lying in bed, just staring up at the ceiling.

Unless you count those five minutes of "sleep" about seven hours after I'd gone to bed at 10 pm, I hadn't slept at all. I was more tired than I'd ever been before. I sat up in bed with great effort. My whole body felt as if it weighed a ton. I went out of bed and got dressed, trying not to think about what Lenne could be enduring at this very moment. "I cannot let anything happen to her." But of course, saying that over and over again, no matter how resolvedly I said it, wouldn't make things better. If I wanted to save my Lenne, I couldn't just sit here.

"Unless you find any way to save her, Shuyin, you'll never see her again." A small, truthful voice told said inside my head.

"I cannot just sit around like this." I said. I must find a way to save her."

Later that evening, I sat in the living room, watching the news.

The guy on the screen was talking about the Summoner Office, and that they'd sent every summoner in Zanarkand to the frontlines in their attempt to fight back a gigantic army of Bevelle's Machina, that had infiltrated Zanarkand. "The rumour has it" the newsman announced.

"That the Machina city of Bevelle has got Machina at their Headquarters in Bevelle which is far more powerful than what they've brought to the frontlines." My head jerked upwards from my lap as I heard this. The memory of the nightmare surfaced in my mind.

I remembered the gigantic, fiendish Machina. I remembered the dark holes which was its eyes. And I remembered the definite feeling I had had in the dream; the feeling that this Machina was the only thing that could save my Lenne. "But this of course, is just rumours, citizens of Zanarkand." The man on the screen said. So don't worry about what I've just said." "If you don't want us to worry about this _rumour_, then why did you tell us?" I wondered irritably. "We'll keep you informed on everything that happens at the frontlines, unless the Bevellians get us before we manage to inform you. Whoa! Didn't mean to scare you, folks!" The newsman yelled hysterically. And with that, he apparently announced that the news had ended, and I turned off the wide-screen TV on the wall.

"Machina more powerful than anything at the Bevelle HQ." I mumbled, sitting without moving at the chair in the living room.

"I wonder……If I somehow could get hold of that Machina……and…..then perhaps…..I could save Lenne."

I sat there, awed at eh, the "_plan" _that slowly got formed in my head.

But from my point of view, it could work. Probably because I felt so desperate at the moment. I wanted Lenne back to me, and I was willing to do anything to get her back, even if it included destroying a city full of millions of people. And all of Bevelle's Machina along with the city, including the Machina they'd brought to Zanarkand, I would do it, even if I died in the attempt to save her.

"I'll save you, Lenne. Even if I'll have to destroy Bevelle, I'll save you." I sat like that for a long time, trying to steel myself to do what I had to do, if I ever wanted to see Lenne again.

Later that day, I left my house in search for equipment for the journey to Bevelle, to steal the Machina everyone was talking about. I had brought a backpack with me, and had filled it with what I had found at my house when it comes to food, before I left.

I walked all the way to the business district. I was thinking of buying some kind of weapons there, or something to defend myself when I was searching for the one thing that could perhaps save Lenne.

I entered the weapon shop in the business district, looking around for suitable things to bring on the journey.

The shop was tiny, but still with a huge selection of many things which looked like they could come in handy, swords, daggers, and other martial art weapons. But there were also Machina weapons. I took note of a black pump-shotgun, many different types of automatic pistols, either in black or brown colour. There were mostly automatic Machina weapons in the small shop, in addition to the pump-shotguns hanging on the wall. I looked around, checking out the different weapons in there. I'd never fired a gun before, so that was out of the question, but I wasn't completely ignorant when it came to fighting with swords. (I'd trained with wooden sticks with my friends at school when I was a kid) Then my gaze fixed on a huge sword hanging in a red holster. I remembered using the exact same sword in the nightmare, and how I'd used it to chop up the door leading into the room with the Machina. I went over to the counter.

"Hey, um….is that large sword for sale?" I asked, pointing at the sword behind the counter. The extremely fat shop keeper behind the counter turned and looked in the direction I pointed. He looked at the sword behind him. He turned back to me, his eyebrows raised in astonishment. "You're actually gonna buy _that_!" He asked.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" I asked a little annoyed. "No, it's just….that thing's been for sale here for months without being even paid any attention to by the other customers." "Well, how much do you want for it?" I asked. The big shop keeper looked down at me for a few moments, before he finally actually spoke. "You can have it." He said quietly. "Again?" I asked, not quiet sure if I'd heard him right.

"You can have it, for free." The shop keeper said again.

"Whoa. Thanks!" I exclaimed. The shop keeper turned around and took the large sword down from the shelves it lay on. He turned around, and handed it to me. "Here you go, sir. I'm just glad to get rid of this shit." He said. He laid a device on the counter used to attach the sword to my back. I took the sword. It felt surprisingly light in my hands, as if it was made of glass, and not heavy materials. I couldn't tell what materials it was made of, but that didn't really matter to me.

All I cared about was how I could use it in my quest to save Lenne.

I attached the sword to my back by the help of the device he handed me. "Thanks, pal." I said, and walked out of the shop.

Now that I'd gotten what I needed to survive, food and weapons, I walked all the way over to the airport, many miles away from the business district. "Now, all I have to do is ensure transport to Bevelle." I thought, trying to see things from the bright side.

I went inside the gigantic building. It was one of those skyscraper-sized ones. The exception from the other large buildings was that next to the building, was a field for airships to land and leave the airport from..

AUTHOR'S NOTE (if you could call it that):

Could someone please tell me what Shuyin actually is planning to use Vegnagun for in the game? I hear someone say he's trying to use Vegnagun to kill Sin, but I cannot imagine that Sin existed at the same time as Zanarkand and Bevelle's technology was on top. I'm sure you can understand why. I thought that just before Bevelle was about to crush the last of Zanarkand, Sin appeared, and destroyed what was left of the city. If I'm not mistaken, some guy in Final Fantasy 10 tells Tidus this, ya see. Could someone please email me with the answer? I thought that Shuyin is trying to use Vegnagun the way I've described in this fic.


	7. Chapter 7: Bevelle's most feared Machina

Sorry this chapter took ages.

I've had sort of a writer's block, and other things.

I hope I've done a decent job with this one. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seven**

**Bevelle's most feared Machina**

I woke up later by the shaking of the tanks as it drove on, hitting bumps on the hard and clearly rough ground. I opened my eyes, and sat up on the hard, naked floor of the round cage. The first thing I noticed was that my sword was gone. The only thing I still had on my back, were the braces. "Goddamn it!" I swore under my breath.

We were driving away from Zanarkand, but we weren't leaving by the main road. I turned around in the tiny cage. What I saw made my eyes widen in astonishment. Probably because of the extreme size of it.

An airship stood before me. At the nose-section of the airship, I saw a long laser cannon with the bevellian flag painted at the side of it. Under and over each of the six wings of the airship, there were placed twenty miniature missiles with the atomic mark painted in yellow and black. "Those assholes." I muttered, as the huge airship seemed to get larger as the tank approached it.

The tank stopped beside the airship, and a bridge lowered from the entrance door of the Machina. The cage I was in opened and a man who seemed to be from Bevelle grabbed my arm and dragged me unceremoniously out of it without looking at me.

"Hey, man! It's not like I cannot walk! You hear me!"

I yelled at the guy, but he just ignored me.

He dragged me up the bridge, and inside the enormous airship.

Inside, there were Bevellians in military uniforms sitting or standing with machine guns or pump-shotguns in their lap or over their shoulder. They looked at me with hateful eyes as the man dragging me walked past them. I looked back at them, without flinching.

"Looks like I was right.

Bevelle is a city in Spira full of war mongers." I thought darkly.

I wanted to ask them where Lenne was, but I thought better of it.

Why would they know, or care about where she was?

All they wanted was every Zanarkandian Summoner dead, anyway.

The man dragged me to the back of the airship, opened a heavy, metal door, and threw me inside the small cell. "I've had _enough _of you dragging and throwing me around like shit!" I roared at the guy.

This time, he actually _looked _at me. "You're from that damn godforsaken Zanarkand-place. Why wouldn't I be dragging and throwing you around?" He asked. His voice was deep and menacing.

I just looked at him, feeling hate such as I'd never felt before.

"You cold-blooded, war Machina-obsessed asshole." I whispered in a low voice. The man just shrugged. He turned around and walked further inside the airship, as if I wasn't worth his attention.

I sighed in a mixture of feelings I couldn't quiet place, and sat down on the hard floor against the wall of the cell. "At least I'll get to Bevelle this way."

I thought, trying to see things from the bright side as always.

After awhile, I fell asleep, mostly due to exhaustion.

I opened my eyes and looked around me. I was lying on the ground of an enormous grass field. All around me, people were fighting each other. Bevellian tanks with extremely large cannons were firing at Valefors and Bahamuts flying in the air, sending rays and beams down at the Bevellian army. I got up from the ground, terrified at the Machina war being fought before me. Suddenly, one particular Summoner caught my eye. Lenne was flying around above the two armies, this time on Bahamut. I saw her get up on the dragon, and wave her Summoner Staff. Yojimbo and Daigoro the Dog came walking out of a forest that had suddenly appeared below her. Lenne looked down at the Samurai Aeon. He sprang forward, having received his tribute of Gil from her the day she acquired him. Enough Gil for her not to have to pay him ever again, surprisingly enough. Yojimbo sprang forward, pulling out his Katana and swung around. He made a slashing movement at tenths of Machina facing him. The Zanmato Strike wiped them out instantly. Tenths of Bevellian Machina exploded, and a terrible sound filled the entire grass field. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, an unbelievably enormous crater had appeared where the tanks had been only moments before. Yojimbo sheathed his Samurai sword again. Daigoro now sprang forward, jumping at the closest tank and kicking it with his hind legs. This had little effect, however. Daigoro the Dog retreated back to his master, and Yojimbo pulled out three small knifes and made a slashing movement at the tank his pet had failed to defeat. The Wakisashi Strike sliced the single tank in halves. Deciding that Yojimbo was safe, and in complete control of the situation below, Lenne bended forward and whisper in Bahamut's ear. For some reason, I could hear perfectly clear what she said to the Dragon King. "Bahamut, use the Impulse. Disable those huge tanks right below us. I'll cast the Shield spell on us when they'll fire back." A mixture of purple and black sparks appeared at the end of Bahamut's wings. They grew into beams, and he released them. They charged down on the tanks below, and the two Machinas exploded, leaving a huge crater in their place. Lenne flew on, conjuring a Shield around herself and Bahamut, trying to escape the tenths of beams and flames being shot at her from below. Suddenly, the Dragon King let out an ear-splitting roar of pain, and I saw how they started falling from the sky. Lenne, sitting between Bahamut's huge wings, shook her head from the shock and pain of the beam that had hit them. Even though Lenne had conjured a Shield for protection, Bevelle's Machina were too powerful. It had penetrated the shield as if it was nothing. I watched how blood flowed from grotesque cuts on both her legs. Both of Bahamut's wings were bleeding ferociously, his red, hot blood gushing out, and drenched Lenne in her beloved Aeon's blood. I watched how she screwed up her face, and cried as she felt Bahamut's warm, red thick liquid against her skin. I felt her sorrow inside. I felt how heartbroken she was at the thought of one of her Aeons feeling pain. I watched how they fell down to the ground, and heard Lenne's scream as the ground below drew ever closer…….

I opened my eyes and stared around wildly. I was still lying in the small cell. I breathed rapidly, and my heart beat so fast it felt as if it would blow out of my chest at any moment.

I let a hand run across my forehead and through my hair.

It was drenched in sweat, just like after my previous nightmare.

I looked at my quivering hands. They were shaking just as badly as the night when I'd dreamed of that terrible Machina. The nightmare that, without me knowing it at first, was what made me go on this journey. I knew it was the reason why I was here now.

Even though I'd heard the man on the television announcing the rumour about the powerful Machina that was supposedly being kept at the Bevelle HQ, I knew that I wouldn't have decided to go on this journey, if I hadn't seen that fiendish weapon in that dream.

My breathing slowed down after awhile, and my body stopped shaking. "Are you awake now?" I looked through the small

"window" in the heavy metal door.

"Finally. Now perhaps we'll at last get some peace and quiet in here. You screamed so loudly while sleeping. And you kept howling a name aloud. Think it was "Lenne", or something. I would've woken you up, but you screamed so loudly I just didn't feel like trying to wake you."

"So? What's your point?" I replied to his little speech.

"That you should shut up. We're flying above Bevelle now, and

we'll be arriving at Saint Bevelle soon. You'll be placed under arrest in the Underground of our Temple there. You better stay still and quiet till then." "Why do you call your Headquarters a Temple?

And why have you named it "Saint Bevelle"?

You guys religious, or something? You sure don't look like it."

I nodded towards those large rifles beside the many soldiers in the airship. "We call our Temple "Saint Bevelle", because that's where our Maesters reside. And among them, Grand Maester Nodachi-Sama.

He's the leader of all the people in our glorious Machina city.

I'm the leader of the Elite Guard of Saint Bevelle.

It's my job to keep heathens like you away from our Grand Maester.

That's why I'm the one who's been dragging and throwing you around. Part of my duty as leader of Saint Bevelle's Elite Guard. A duty I follow with pleasure." The man added.

"_Glorious Machina city_?" I asked, ignoring the last part of his little speech. "You sure are full of yourselves, aren't you? No wonder there's so much difference between our two hometowns. I'll bet that guy you call a Maester is just the same. But all in all I'm glad I wasn't raised like you, or any other of those fucking war mongers at that shithouse you call a Temple."

The man suddenly got up from his seat, and unlocked the metal door to my cell. I got up hastily; ready to fly at his throat.

He pushed away my hands as I tried to get hold of his windpipe, and delivered a quick, rock-hard punch to my nose. Blood flowed out as my nose broke. I screamed out in pain and fell against the wall.

The leader of Bevelle's Elite Guard started kicking me, aiming for my head and face as I lay on the floor, desperately trying to get up.

None of the other soldiers paid any attention to the completely

one-sided fight in the small cell at the back of the airship.

As the man continued to hit and punch me, I stopped attempting

to fight back. I just lay there, covering my head with my arms

to shield my most critical body parts.

I tried to think of something else as I was being beat up.

I remembered Lenne's cheerful, smiling face.

And I remembered her blissful moaning and whimpering as we'd lied in bed together. I remembered her eyes as I'd rubbed her core, so full of love and content ness. I remembered how she, just by living with me, had told me constantly that she loved me, and would never leave my side.

I remembered our flights on Valefor, before Zanarkand lost its life.

And Lenne's gentle whisper in my ear, telling me she'd wanted to go out with me for ages.

The kicks suddenly stopped. I coughed blood as that asshole left my cell and locked the door behind him. I'd never felt so beaten up before.

I could hardly move from the pain that now engulfed my entire body. At least it felt like it. I wasn't entirely sure what exactly he'd done to me, but I was certain he hadn't broken anything more than my nose.

But I knew perfectly well that the only reason why he hadn't beaten me to death, was because it was his orders to get me to Bevelle.

The blood from my nose continued to flow, and I clutched it with both hands and closed my eyes, trying to shut out the pain.

"Think about something else, Shuyin."

I remembered only glimpses, and the feeling itself of what had happened when Lenne and I lay in bed that night, before we took a break from the bonding. Apart from the glimpses I remembered, I could still remember the sensation of being blinded and deafened in ecstasy.

But I couldn't remember what we were doing.

"It doesn't matter."

I thought, trying to recover from the beat-up. "As long as I know Lenne was happy with me. I don't really care about the details.

As long as I know Lenne was feeling blissful, then the rest of the thing can go to hell." Normally I wouldn't think of it that way, but the situation I was in made it hard not to think aggressive thoughts, even about such things. It was sad, really. Sad I was getting that way because of all the things that had happened to me, of all the things that had been taken away from me the moment Lenne departed.

I tried to sit up, but my l was too exhausted. I lay down on my back, with my head facing the door, so the blood wouldn't flow into my nose. I was afraid of how it would feel if I let it flow into my broken nose.

"Lenne. She told me just to live, and wait for her to come back to me. She didn't want this to happen to me. She didn't want me to suffer physical pain like this, while at the same time yearning for everything about her, torturing my own mind with the longing.

Lenne wanted me to be safe in Zanarkand until she returned.

She didn't want me to experience something like this.

All that was written in her face and her voice when she told me to live and wait for her. I'm sorry, Lenne. Not before now, I see what you really meant when you told me that. And not before now I know what that last kiss I received from you actually meant to you.

You were telling me that you didn't want me to suffer for your sake. You were telling me that you loved me, and that you didn't want me to go so far for you, for it would make your heart bleed.

But I love you, Lenne. I cannot live without you.

My world would be ripped into a thousand bits if you lost your life."

I screwed up my face, and cried silently at a mixture of feelings I could understand, but couldn't sort out.

I was too messed up to keep my feelings categorised like that.

I remembered my grandmother telling me a story once,

before she died of pneumonia.

The story about the lovebird who gave up living, so it could join its mate. The lovebird had felt like its entire world had fallen apart around her, and as if there was no more purpose in continue to live in the world it had always called its home.

If Lenne died, I would feel just like that.

I knew it instinctively. If Lenne died, I would just give up living.

I'd never thought about it like this before. It hurt.

To feel this way really hurt.

"If I could somehow escape them once we land, I might still have a chance of reaching the Bevelle HQ, and steal that Machina. I won't give up. I've come too far. I won't stop until I've stolen that thing and saved my Lenne." It was the only thing that now kept me going.

The hope I held of stealing that Machina was the only reason why I wasn't just sitting there, waiting for death to come and get me.

I curled up to a ball on the hard floor of the small cell, and continued to clutch my broken nose while waiting for the airship to land.

Some time later (no idea how long we'd been flying) I felt the airship starting to descend. "Looks like we've reached to place." I thought, and got up from my curled-up position. The man who'd beaten me up rose from his seat, hoisted his pump-shotgun over his shoulder, and went over to my cell. He opened the heavy metal door.

"Don't try anything funny." He said menacingly.

"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to attempt to strangle you more than once?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Does this guy think I suffer from bad short-term memory, or something? He's damn annoying." I thought, letting him, resentfully, drag me out of the cell, and further into the airship. He stopped just beside the exit, but he didn't let go of my arm, which now started to feel numb from the lack of blood circulation. "No point asking him to slacken his grip. He told me he dragged me around with pleasure, after all." Suddenly, I felt the wheels under the airship hit solid ground.

The Machina had landed, and by the sound of it, was now driving on a landing field to slow it down. There were no windows in the airship, so it wasn't possible to see out, but I could tell by the way the airship moved, that it would come to a stop pretty soon.

It happened gradually. The airship slowed down little by little, and then stopped. The noisy rumbling of the wheels against the landing field died out. I heard a man shouting outside. A loud, harsh voice announcing the arrival of the enormous airship:

"The airship The Peacebringer has arrived at dock 5!"

"_The Peacebringer_! Is _this thing_ really their definition of something that's gonna bring peace to Spira!" I thought disgusted, thinking about the 240 nuclear missiles on the wings.

"This thing is used to slaughter thousands of people at once!" I yelled at the guy holding me, unable to contain myself.

"Is this really what you call bringing peace to your homeland!"

The leader of Saint Bevelle's Elite Guard looked at me, his cold, heartless eyes narrowed as he looked into my eyes.

I looked back at him without backing down,

disgust written all over my face. After awhile, he spoke.

"You cannot understand our ways, Zanarkandian.

What makes you think you have any right to ask us such questions?"

He said no more, as if I wasn't worth his attention. "The same attitude as always." I thought angrily. "Treating me like I'm some kind of insect buzzing around his head, trying to annoy him. He just turned around, and started walking down the bridge that had been lowered from the airship down to the landing field, dragging me unceremoniously along as always.

We were standing on an airship landing field much larger than the one at Zanarkand's airport. All around, people were running among skyscraper-sized buildings, like the ones in Zanarkand, with the exception that these skyscraper-buildings looked much less alive than Zanarkand's. There were no lights in different colours in them, or any loud voices coming from them. They all looked like the way Zanarkand had looked after Bevelle's first attack. The citizens of Bevelle continued to run among the buildings, back and forth, a never-ending mass of people swarming all over the airport. "Like ants in an ant colony." I thought. When I looked around, I could see no passenger airships. There were only war-Machinas to be seen.

I saw many other airships like the one I'd arrived in.

Mostly, there were only airships like that stationed here.

I started shaking with anger at the thought of these monsters slaughtering my people.

I looked ahead of me, and noticed another one of those cage tanks that had picked me up in Zanarkand. The leader of Saint Bevelle's Elite Guard dragged me towards it. "Great. There goes my chance of escaping. Now, I'll have to wait until we've reached the HQ, if I want to have a reason for hoping."

I thought, as the bevellian holding me pushed me roughly inside the cage and closed it.

I sat down inside the cage of the new tank, but not before I swore loudly.

The tank's engine got turned on, and I felt the floor shake under me, as the massive belt-wheels of the tank rolled forward.

"At least I can see outside now." I thought, once again in an attempt to cheer myself up.

The whole Machina city of Bevelle seemed to have the atmosphere of a city ruled by a dictator. I could tell it was a city where people weren't allowed to say what they wanted about their hometown. The people weren't allowed to talk freely, or fight for a cause they believed in within organisations they could form at free will.

The reason why I could tell that the citizens of Bevelle had no freedom, was because that, even though the city wasn't silent as death like in Zanarkand, people seemed to be much less spirited than in my hometown before Bevelle's Machina attacked.

I could hear no laughter coming from any open windows in any house.

No youths walking together in big groups, talking loudly and excitedly about Blitzball or anything. The streets were crowded, but if people were walking together, they talked to each other in whispers.

It seemed as if they were afraid to raise their voices, or laugh at jokes they told each other. Bevelle seemed, if possible, even gloomier than Zanarkand. At least people in my hometown weren't afraid of telling each other jokes, or laugh with each other, even if they were terrified.

It really made me sad to see something like this.

To see a society were people

actually lived their lives the way the people of Bevelle did.

"If I'm going to use that Machina that's supposedly being held at the Bevelle HQ, I'm not gonna use it in a way that'll harm these people."

I thought, though I had no idea how I was gonna do that.

Every citizen of Bevelle seemed so down-spirited and depressed.

It was as if, by every step they took, they were asking for help.

As if they were begging someone, anyone, to come and give them the freedom they were denied by their Grand Maester.

"So this is what the Machina city of Bevelle is." I thought bitterly, looking at the poor souls through the metal railings of my small prison.

The cage tank passed a small boy sitting by himself on the pavement, looking as if he would like nothing more than just sink through the ground and stay there. As I looked at him, it struck me that I'd never before seen a more defeated-looking person.

A kid who looked as if he wasn't older than ten years, I'd wager. His head jerked upwards at the sound of the huge vehicle approaching.

He met my gaze, and I looked back into his eyes.

They were big, hazel ones. Eyes full of sorrow, the eyes of a human living in captivity. The small boy stretched out a small, bony hand and tried to reach me. I stretched out my own, much bigger hand.

But just before they could make contact, the tank increased its speed, and the small boy was lost from my site.

An intense feeling of pity for him welled up inside of me, and I sank to the floor of the cage, feelings of hatred for Bevelle's Maester, and pity for every citizen of this Machina city boiling to the surface in my mind. "I never thought I'd ever see such a soul-crushed child."

Suddenly, I felt the rumbling under me fade away.

I opened my eyes, and looked around.

We were standing in front an enormous temple.

The temple was built circle-shaped, on a huge plateau. Above the double doors, were the letters "Saint Bevelle" written in Japanese Kanji. "So, this is the place." I thought, looking up at it.

I turned around, and looked behind me. A long staircase made of white stone led up to the Bevelle HQ. "It looks more like some kind of place to worship something, rather than a place where they keep Machina hidden." I thought, wondering if it could all have been bullshit that stuff about the Machina being held inside the temple of Bevelle. Suddenly, I noticed that the tank was gone. I was just sitting in the small cage.

"The Bevellians must've detached the cage from the tank, and somehow lifted it all the way up the stone staircase, and placed me here. But where are they now?" I thought. Then I saw them.

About ten soldiers all equipped down to the bone with heavy infantry weapons. Automatic rifles and pistols, pump-shotguns, hand-to-hand combat weapons, such as daggers and swords.

They were all dressed in white and green, with white helmets that covered their forehead, making them hard to see properly.

They had white, heavy-looking boots which seemed as if they looked more like white-painted iron than anything else. As I looked at their heavy equipment, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"How the heck am I supposed to escape _now_!"

The Bevellian soldiers walked over to my cage, and positioned themselves in circles with the cage in the middle.

One of them approached the cage, and unlocked it with a heavy, silver key with a small version of the Bevellian flag engraved on it.

The entire cage made a whining sound as he opened the door.

He grabbed my wrist, and dragged me out the same way his boss had done. I tried to get on my feet, but he pushed me to the ground, and all the other soldiers aimed their pump-shotguns at me.

Their helmets shielded their eyes, so I couldn't see them, but I could tell they really hated me. Even though I couldn't see their eyes, I could tell by the way they held their weapons pointed at my head, and I felt a kind of icy cold chill emanate from them.

Every muscle in my body tightened by the hate I felt towards them.

My eyes burned with a white-hot hatred towards those bastards who'd invaded my hometown. The Bevellians noticed how my body tightened. They moved closer. One of them put his shotgun against the side of my head, ready to blow my brains out.

"Don't try anything stupid, Zanarkandian."

I forced my body to relax, though my hatred burned even fiercer.

Suddenly, one of them grabbed my hair, and dragged up after it.

It hurt like hell. I tried to follow the hand as it dragged me upwards after my hair. I gritted my teeth, so I wouldn't scream.

"You'll be placed under arrest in the Saint Bevelle Underground."

The guard holding me let go of my hair, and pushed me to the ground again. "As long as they're standing in this tight circle around me, I won't get any chances of escaping. That'll have to wait until they've moved away. It's the only chance I've got." "What are you mumbling about, Zanarkandian? The Underground awaits you."

The Bevellian grabbed my arm. I felt how it got numb from his tight grip. "What's up with this guy, anyway, holding my arm so tightly? He took a step backwards, and dragged me unto my feet. The other soldiers watched in silence, as if they were used to this kind of thing. They led me into the temple.

I was standing in an enormous room with a balcony above me.

On the balcony, was a huge banner bearing a strange symbol I'd never seen before. It could've been a key, if it wasn't for that it had three blades below the handle, instead of one. The three-bladed key was painted in black, with a white circle behind it. Around the white circle, I was the rest of the banner painted in deep-red.

Below the balcony, right opposite of where I stood, was an elevator-like device which floated in mid-air.

The whole room had the atmosphere of a place where people were holding important ceremonies or meetings.

The whole room was silent as a graveyard in the night.

The only sound that could be heard was a whispering that seemed to come from one of the rooms to the right side.

"What's that whispering?" I asked the guards.

The one holding me actually spoke this time.

"Our nuns are praying to the Grand Maester that Zanarkand will fall, and that peace will soon return to the world."

"THEY ARE WHAT!" I screamed in outrage.

I couldn't and wouldn't understand what that asshole had just said.

I remembered how Bevelle's Machina had bombed a single district in Zanarkand just to get the one Summoner who they suspected resided there. I remembered how they'd killed tens of civilians in the assault.

I remembered how they'd made my hometown into something I still couldn't understand.

"It's you who're destroying the world-peace!" I yelled at him, unable to contain myself. Finally, I had an excuse to get out my feelings, and I used it. I yelled on:

"Look at all those war-Machinas you've got right outside this very room! Look at all the defeated people of your city!

Look at the way you invaded Zanarkand and transformed it into…..into what it is now!" I roared, not being able to find words for what Zanarkand had now become.

"Murasame." The man said to one of the guards, as if I hadn't spoken at all. "Head over to the heliport with half of this company, and prepare The Peacebringer for immediate take-off.

We're gonna crush Zanarkand, so this godforsaken freak learns to keep his goddamn mouth shut." The man called Murasame saluted, and he and a four other soldiers went out of the room.

While the last soldier passed me on his way out, I slipped my hand inside his pocket, and took out his small knife.

I pocketed it quickly and silently. The other soldiers were too busy chatting amongst themselves to notice anything.

I noticed that, by coincidence, I'd put the small knife in my right pocket. And the man holding me stood on my right side.

This would make it easier for me to use the small weapon.

"I don't have anything against it; since he and that boss of his has been treating me like shit since I got captured in Zanarkand."

I held the small knife lightly with my right hand, trying not to act as if I was up to something. The man holding me was looking in a different direction, speaking to one of the other guards who were still there. Before I took out the small knife, I took a quick look at the man's pockets, to see if there was anything of his weapons I could use.

I saw a small machine gun in a sheath on his right leg.

The machine gun could be reached easily. All I had to do was stretch my right hand just a few centimetres away, and grab it. Since the lock on the sheath was open, it would be easier for me to steal the weapon. "How convenient for me that they keep their guns in sheaths like that.

I'm sure it's supposed to be for his advantage, but

I'm not so sure about that."

Once I'd formed as good a plan as I could in this situation, I tightened my grip on the small knife, ready to pull it out of my pocket.

I closed my eyes. I'd never done anything like this before.

Now that I thought about it, to use that Machina to slaughter hundreds of people in order to save Lenne, was an extremely drastic thing to do, to use an easy word.

I heard a moan come from close by me, and the sound of something dripping to the floor. Then I heard the sound of something heavy falling, meeting the floor with a crash that rang through the entire room. And then moaning again, they weren't the blissful, happy moans I'd heard from Lenne. These were moans of agony,

moans of someone who was in deep pain.

I opened my eyes. I had stabbed the small knife in his stomach, instead of his wrist, as I'd planned to.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then, before anyone could do or say anything, I pulled out the small machine gun from the sheath on the Bevellian's right leg, raised my arm holding the gun, and fired.

Another body fell to the ground, shot through the heart. Then, before anyone of the three soldiers who were still standing could raise their guns in retaliation, I picked up the body of the man lying in front of me with the small knife through his stomach. He coughed blood, and moaned in pain as I held him in front of me as a living shield. I pointed the small machine gun on one of the three soldiers. None of them seemed to want to fire at me, afraid to hit their comrade.

I fired the small gun again, twice and two more bodies fell to the ground. I noticed that the man still standing was holding a shotgun with one trembling hand.

I looked into his face, which was filled with an intense fear.

I pointed the small machine gun at the hand that held weapon, and fired. The soldier dropped the weapon immediately, screaming in pain, clutching his bleeding hand with the other. He fell to the floor. What I could see of his face was red with blood running to his face due to the pain. I threw the stabbed man aside, and shot him in the head.

He died instantly. Blood flowed from the hole in his forehead.

His dead and bloody face wore the expression of a dead person who'd experienced mind-breaking agony before death took him.

I went over to the man lying on the floor. He quickly backed away, trying to get away from me. "Where's my sword?" I asked in a voice I didn't recognise. "I-in the room to the left of you. M-my boss told me to put it there, locked in a vault before you arrived."

"Where's the key to the vault?" I asked, still in that murderous, harsh voice I didn't recognise.

The man moved a shaky hand to his helmet, and took it off.

The white, heavy helmet fell to the floor with a crash.

Again, the sound of something heavy hitting the floor rang across the entire hall. "I-inside the h-helmet." He gasped, still clutching his hand with the other. They were now both soaked in his red, warm blood.

I went over to the helmet and picked it up.

A key with a different shape than the key to the cage tanks, but with the Bevellian flag carved in it lay in there.

I took it out of the sweaty, warm helmet, and pocketed it.

Then I left the man to his own business.

I was standing in a small room with a huge vault which filled it nearly entirely. The vault seemed to be made of a thick material that looked as if it could withstand a bomb of nearly any kind.

I approached the enormous vault, and placed the key in a keyhole in the middle of the circle-shaped, heavy door.

I turned the key in and stepped hastily aside as the vault opened.

It opened slowly, with a screechy sound. I clasped my hands over my ears, trying to block it out. The vault opened entirely, and the loud, screechy sound died away.

I looked inside a room which seemed to be so big that an airship like the one I'd been brought to Bevelle in could easily fit in there.

My sword lay in the middle of the huge vault, still inside its holster.

I stepped inside the room. My feet made echoes in the vault as it made contact with the metal floor. I went over to the sword, and picked it up.

"Why the heck do these guys bother to lock a single sword inside this huge thing?" I wondered, fastening it to the braces on my back.

I went out of the huge vault, or storeroom, or whatever.

The first thing I noticed when I got out in the hall again was that the soldier who'd given me the key for the vault had gone.

"I sure hope this doesn't lead to any trouble."

Then, suddenly, I heard screaming. I turned around quickly.

The nuns who'd been praying came running out of their room, screaming loudly at the sound of the corpses lying on the floor, and the blood that covered rather huge parts of the hall.

They ran out of the temple, screaming loudly.

"More witnesses." I thought, looking after them, hearing them scream. "Aw, well. Not much to do about that. I don't want to kill them."

I sighed, and went over to the elevator-like device.

"Now, how do I use this thing?" I wondered, looking at the device.

It had no buttons, or any obvious means of triggering the device.

I put my hand on the golden handrail built circle-shaped around the elevator, wondering what I should do now.

Suddenly I felt the device move, and I grabbed the handrail with both hands so I wouldn't fall from the surprise.

The elevator began to descend, down into a thin layer of mist.

"Why is there mist here, anyway?"

As the elevator went down, I could feel how it seemed to get colder.

"Perhaps I should expect it, being underground and all."

I looked over the handrail, and looked downwards.

All I could see was the white mist. "I sure didn't expect something

like _this _of all things." As the elevator descended, the mist started to surround me, and it got harder to see. I clutched the handrail, to have something to hold on to. "Man…..this mist….it makes me feel…..unsafe." I mumbled, sitting down on the floor of the elevator.

The elevator stopped in mid-air, a few centimetres above the platform.

I got out of the device, and looked around the room.

I was standing on a shining blue platform in a huge room.

The room was built like some kind of labyrinth, and I could see

holes in the walls, where one was clearly supposed to place something.

"What is this place? How am I supposed to find that thing here?"

I took a few steps into the room. As I stepped forward, my feet made echoes as they touched the ground. The sound of my feet soared around the hall. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to search until I find it." I moved on, looking around the room for possible exists apart from the elevator.

After what seemed like endless hours of walking inside the labyrinth, I saw a new path to my right, leading upwards.

I took the new path to my right. I looked down, and saw what was beneath my feet. The floor I was walking on…..I could see through it.

Beneath me, I could see an endless maze of roads and platforms.

I swayed as I stood there, looking down at all the paths around me.

"Whoa! This place is…..crazy." I thought, not able to put it any other way. I forced my eyes upwards, looking ahead of me, away from the maze below. I moved on, looking around me for more paths that stood out from the others.

After some more time, it looked up, for some reason.

I saw another elevator above me, like the one I'd used coming down into the labyrinth. I quickened my pace, and tried to find the fastest route to the elevator, hoping it would lead me to the Machina.

I broke into a run. My feet made rapid echoes across the hall as my legs moved. After about thirty steps, I started breathing fast as I got more tired. Suddenly, I stumbled. I let out a yell of surprise, as my feet slipped. I landed on the see-through floor, and rolled a few times across the hall by the speed I'd held. After a few rolls, I managed to stop.

I lay there on the floor a few moments, trying to catch my breath, and get rid of the dizziness. I sat up, and put a hand to my forehead, trying to clear it. "Phew. That sure was breathtaking." I got up, my legs shook under me. I tightened the muscles in my legs, forcing them to cooperate. "Come on…..get back to normal!" I thought, trying to shake off the feeling I had from the experience.

After a minute, or something, my legs stopped shaking.

I stood upright, and let out a sigh. "Phew…….time to move on."

I continued onwards, but I didn't break into a run this time.

I walked on. The elevator above drew closer with each step I took.

I reached it, the elevator. "If I'm lucky, this thing can bring me to…." I stepped on it, and put my hand on the handrail.

The elevator flew slowly upwards.

The elevator stopped, and I looked in ahead of me.

I was looking at a huge double door with the strange three-bladed symbol on it. "What's with these guys and their weird symbols, anyway?" I wondered. I approached the double doors.

They looked heavy, as if, to open it, you'd have to have at least three adults to push it open. I tried, even though I knew it would probably come to nothing. "Come oooooon! Open up!" I moaned, as I kicked from the ground with my hands against the double doors, trying to push them open. "Nnnnnnng…….huh……pffff……shit……you're persistent, aren't you?" I stepped away from the door, when an idea suddenly flashed into my mind.

"I know what to do."

I put my right hand up to the handle of the sword on my back.

I pulled it out, hearing the sound of it being unsheathed as I pulled.

I stood there, the sword in my right hand, against the floor.

"Well…..here goes….." I lifted the sword above my head, as if I was about to cleave someone's head in two.

I sliced at the door, hearing the sound of tree being chopped as the sword made contact with the huge thing.

I stood with the sword through the door, and moved it left, right, centre, until the huge double doors fell to the ground with an ear-splitting bang that shook the floor.

I stood there, awed at how it'd happened. "Holy cow, that was…..whoa…..didn't expect it to sound like _that_.

I stared at the remnants of the door lying in pieces across the floor in front of me some more. Then, as if I had been hit by something hard,

I returned to my senses. I blinked, and put the sword back into the sheath.

"Time to move on." I stepped over the remnants of the entrance door.

I looked ahead of me.

I was standing in a circulated room, with the same three-bladed key painted on the floor. The room looked like some kind of waiting-place.

I stepped further inside the room, examining the strange-looking "door" opposite of me.

It was sort of egg-shaped, and looked as if it was made of something heavy. But unlike the door I'd chopped up back there, it wasn't so breathtakingly big. Suddenly, an image flashed into my mind.

I thought I could see Lenne there, in a small cage attached to a long chain. I thought I could see how she was holding the railings of the small round cage, screaming the words "let me out!"

The image made me run towards the egg-shaped door.

I pulled out my sword, and struck at it with such force, that

when I met the door with the blade of the sword, I slammed my body against it. The door fell to the floor with a crash.

The tip of my sword had made one large hole in the centre of the door.

I sheathed the sword again.

I could see nothing ahead of me, but an enormous black hole.

It was so deep, that when I looked down, I could see nothing but blackness.

"Well…..there's nothing for it….."

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and stepped out into darkness.

I fell. Keeping my eyes closed through the entire fall.

I felt how the wind rushed past me with increasing speed as

I continued to fall.

It felt as if it would never end. "Lenne. I need you."

I landed hard, hitting the floor with a loud crash.

I opened my eyes. I was lying on my back, my face upwards, looking into the blackness I'd fallen through.

I sat up, feeling sick from the sensation.

"I…..made it, Lenne." I got up from the floor.

I looked ahead of me once more, hoping this would lead me to my goal.

I was standing in a long corridor. The corridor just led onwards, no turns, or doors to any of the sides. The corridor was too dark to see what colour the walls were painted in. Then I remembered it.

This was the place with the door with the message in blood-red.

"Maybe this will….."

I broke into a sprint, keeping my gaze fixed ahead of me.

I had to find it. It was the only way I could save my Lenne.

The only way it wouldn't come true.

I stopped as my eyes met the two double doors I'd seen in the nightmare. Across the doors, I could see the same message in blood-red. "Do not enter". I gulped as I read the Japanese Kanji letters.

"This……is it." I stepped closer to the door, and put my right hand on the handle of the sword. "In there…." I pulled out the weapon.

"Those……bastards." I sliced at the doors as though possessed.

As if the only thing that stood in my mind, was to…..destroy.

Once, twice, thrice, fourth, fifth, sixth. I wouldn't let get her. Never.

The double doors were reduced to bits and pieces of metal.

Even though I'd just sliced my way through a double door made of a material like that, I didn't even think about how terrific the strength of that sword was. I ran over the remnants of the door.

I'd reached it. The room with the Machina

with the balcony-like platform.

I stood there, awed and terrified at the sight.

"What a……monster." The Machina in front of me was built just as I'd described it to Lenne the day after the nightmare.

It really looked like it was fifty meters tall.

It was built completely with legs, torso, arms, head and tail.

I looked into the dark holes that was supposed to be the "eyes" of the monster. "Did Bevelle……really create something like this?"

I'd tried to imagine how terrible that Machina could be, having seen it in my dream. But I'd never dreamed that to see it in real life, leering down at me with those pitiful holes, could feel so……horrifying.

I took a deep breath, trying to recover from the feeling of despair.

I couldn't remember it feeling this scary in the dream.

I'd felt like that nightmare seemed realistic, but I'd never imagined how it would feel to see the real thing.

I forced my legs to move forward. I looked into the Machina's holes.

I reached the end of the balcony.

The Machina stood there silently.

It really did look as if it was waiting for me to say or do something.

I opened my mouth, and found myself saying the twelve words from the nightmare: "You know, you're all I can count on to save Lenne."

Suddenly, the whole room got bathed in blood-red light, and an alarm went off. The sound of it echoing through the huge room, making it sound even louder than it actually was.

The sound was so terrible. It really sounded more like a scream than anything else. It really felt as if the Machina in front of me was screaming, howling.

I turned around in the room, and faced whoever could have found me.


	8. Chapter 8: A Thousand Words

**Chapter Eight**

**A Thousand Words**

I've wanted to write this chapter for a long time!

You'll find out soon enough.

Hope I did a good job with the last one. 

Enjoy!

I opened my eyes, feeling cold, hard and naked floor against my back. I looked around me, through the metal railings.

I was lying in one of those small cages. I looked above me, into the blackness that was the hole I'd jumped from, and landed in that passage. I let a hand go to my head. I felt dizzy, dizzy and a little sick.

"What happened, anyway?" I let a hand go down my face, and on my cheeks and forehead, checking for wounds.

I winced slightly as my fingers touched a small cut on my throat, near the pulse.

I withdrew my hand from the cut, and looked at the small, thin trail of blood trailing down my index finger.

I thought back, trying to remember what had happened. I dimly remembered a Bevellian soldier, raising his arm, and point something at me. Other than that, I could remember nothing.

"They must've gotten me with some kind of sleeping dart, or something, cause it suddenly wen't all black back there, and my eyesight got blurred." I sat up in the small cage, looking through the metal railings.

What I saw, struck me as...there was no other word for it: "creepy".

I was in an enormous dungeon. All around me, I could see many other cages like the one I was in.

The cages were hanging above the floor many meters below, from huge, heavy-looking chains attached to them with hooks on the roof of the cages. I looked upwards, letting my eyes follow the chains.

They seemed to disappear into the blackness up there.

"Just how long _are _those things, anyway?" I wondered, amazed and scared at the same time.

When I looked ahead of me, I saw a huge sound booster with a Sphere Surveillance camera attached to it, sweeping the dungeon with its eye-like scope, covering all the cages. Both the sound booster and the Sphere Surveillance camera were floating in mid-air. There were no way to hide from the camera.

The Sphere Camera's only blindspot were right under it. And since there were no platform to stand on under the camera, that wasn't an option. In other words: the Sphere Camera was impossible to escape.

"Great. Now what do I do?" I sat down on the floor, trying to think of a way to get out, somehow.

"So. You're the Zanarkandian our troops found at the northern outskirts of Zanarkand."

My head jerked upwards. Someone had just said something. He spokeextremely loud voice, too loud for any human being.

The extremely loud voice was coming from the huge sound booster that was floating in front of me.

I got up, looking into the Sphere Surveillance camera. It was now pointed directly at me, and no longer sweeping the dungeon. I said nothing in reply.

"Our troops told us that you'd been wandering around the one part of Zanarkand we'd conquered.

And that you were walking around with a long sword on you back. No Zanarkandian in their right minds would dare to travel near the northern parts of that city. What was the purpose of your presence there, Zanarkandian?"

"I might as well just tell him, since there's no point lying. It can hardly get worse than this, anyway." I

I should've known how very wrong I was.

"I was searching for someone." I found myself saying.

"My lover. She was a Summoner who was sent to the frontlines when you attacked my hometown."

"If you were only searching for her," the man said after a moment's silence.

"then why were you trying to steal our newest weapon? If you were just searching for that person, why did we find you in the hangar where we keep our Vegnagun?" The man asked.

"Vegnagun? Is that what you call it?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"I ask the questions here, Zanarkandian!" The guy speaking in the sound booster said in a harsh, sharp voice.

"You killed two of our Elite Soldiers, and shot the last one in his hand. Then you went to fetch that long sword.

You disturbed our nuns as they were doing their daily praying to Maester Nodachi-Sama.

One of them saw you use the Sphere Elevator that leads down to Vegnagun, that only the Maesters, and the Elite Guards may use."

"So, one of them stayed behind, and watched me leave that hall with that elevator." I thought as I heard this.

"Do you have any idea what a crisis that would be, if Zanarkand got hold of that weapon? Do you have any idea what a threat that would be? Don't you feel the slightest responsibility for your actions?"

I had absolutely no idea why this guy was trying to make me feel bad, but I didn't care.

When I spoke again, I found myself shouting. I'd had more than enough of this guy's superiority.

"NO, I'M NOT SORRY! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG!" I roared at the sound booster.

The guy who'd spoken into it, didn't reply.

"I know you're listening. If she was your girl, what would you do! How can you blame me for trying to use your weapon? It was the only way I could save the Summoner! What would you do if you were me!"

Even though I hadn't told this guy what my true purpose of stealing Vegnagun was before, he didn't show any sign of surprise to hear this. He didn't answer my question.

"LET ME OUT! I WANT TO SEE HER!" I yelled in desperation and an unbearable sadness.

The man on the sound booster didn't reply.

I sank to the floor of the small cage, then, crying. I'd failed. I couldn't save Lenne.

I wouldn't except that I'd failed. I didn't want to face the fact that I would never see her again.

"Bah! The only reason why the world is dragging on is because Zanarkand refuses to surrender."

The man spoke again, his voice sneering, and my head jerked upwards.

"You're wrong!" I yelled at him, rising up from the floor of the small cage.

"If you'd stop attacking there wouldn't be a war!

"We're not falling for that."

I kicked the railings of the small cage in anger. I looked down on the floor, feeling how a white-hot anger flared inside.

"Someday, your precious weapons will end up destroying you."

I turned my back to him, and sat down on the naked floor of the cage again.

I opened my eyes, and looked down on the floor.

"Must've fallen asleep, somehow." I thought, unable to understand how I'd managed to fall asleep _here_,of all places.

I got up from my sitting position. The dungeon was quiet again.

The Sphere Surveillance camera was, once again, busy with sweeping the dungeon for hostile activity.

I grabbed the metal railings, and tried to bend them open. I pulled at the railings until my entire body screamed with pain. With a tired groan I let go of them, and fell to the floor of the small cage, breathing heavily, feeling how my muscles still seared with pain after the attempt of break-through.

"Fuck. I've got to get _out_!" I thought, getting up again, massaging the muscles on my upper arms.

I started kicking the railings, in a faint hope that I would actually be strong enough to break through that way.

After some minutes of kicking, I stopped, and let my foot drop to the floor.

I leaned against the metal railings of the small cage, eyes closed due to the pain in my foot.

"It's...no use." I swore under my breath in frustration. Why? How? All those questions that had no answer...

Suddenly, my ears caught the sound of something big flapping up and down in the air.

It sounded like...huge wings. My head jerked upwards from looking at the floor, and I let my eyes sweep the dungeon, looking for the source of the noise. But I could see nothing.

"What the?-" I thought, as I finally realized where the sound was coming from.

Even through the wall opposite of me, with the Sphere Surveillance Camera, I could hear it, though just barely.

Then, I heard something else: the sound of some kind of beam being charged, before it's shot out.

"That sound...is it really..." My eyes widened as the sound tensed, getting louder and louder, until it happened.

The entire wall was blown to pieces. Enormous parts of the wall fell to the floor below, making an ear-splitting sound as the huge debris made contact with the floor. I clasped my hands over my ears over the noise,

trying to see through the smoke the pulverized wall had caused.

I'd never thought I'd ever see him again, and least of all her.

Shiva, the Ice Aeon stood on Valefor's back.

I hadn't seen her since last winter, when she and Lenne were having an ice- and snowballfight outside, and I was too sick to join them. She stood on Valefor's back, her icy hair reached all the way to her butt.

She wore a bikini over her private parts. The bikini was slightly revealing, nonetheless.

Her eyes were the one part of her I hadn't forgotten.

Those eyes of hers, looking at me with that piercing gaze I remembered so well.

She was looking at me with a soothing expression in her face, as if she was saying:

"Everything's going to be alright, Shuyin." I got so happy when I saw them.

How did Lenne know how to show up here? Lenne. The thought of just her name, was enough to make my heart leap.

Valefor flew over to my cage, and I stepped back as I saw what Shiva was about to do.

Shiva was standing on Valefor with her right arm behind her, conjuring a long, sharp icicle in the palm of her hand.

"Whoa. Better brace myself."

I watched as the making of the icicle was complete. Shiva took it in both her hand, holding it like a sword.

I lay down on the floor of the small cage, hoping it would be enough to protect me from the weapon

I heard the sound of something being cut, a sharp, penetrating sound that seared at my ears, but it lasted only for a moment. I heard how many small objects fell downwards, and the sound of the objects hitting the floor below.

I opened my eyes, and looked around. The railings of the cage were all cut off.

I looked into her eyes.

"Let's go, Shuyin. She's waiting for you." The Fayth of Shiva told me inside my head.

"Lenne." I thought, feeling such joy I could hardly bear it. I climbed up on Valefor's back.

Shiva jumped upwards in a sudden motion, and dissolved into nothingness.

I understood that Lenne, wherever she was, had dismissed her.

I flew on Valefor, passed the remnants of the demolished wall.

I looked down at the floor far below me.

It was hard to imagine that those gigantic boulder-sized chunks of debris down there were the remains of a wall, a sound booster, and a Sphere Surveillance Camera. I looked ahead of me, through the hole in the wall.

Valefor flew through it.

We were in the same room as the one the Machina had been in. It was still there.

From the north-west part of the room, I now saw the Machina from a different angle.

I now saw the tail more clearly. A long scorpion-like tail with a big sharp sting at the end.

It swung from side to side, as if the Machina was planning to use it on someone.

Just below us, I saw a huge balcony. Valefor flew lower, and landed on the balcony-like platform.

I slid off his back, and looked around, not knowing why we landed here.

Valefor started pushing me towards the edge of the balcony.

I looked at him, confused. I didn't understand what he wanted.

He nodded towards the end of the balcony.

I looked in the direction he nodded.

I could see nothing there.

"Maybe there's something over the edge?" I started walking towards the end of the balcony.

What I saw, made me feel like my heart would explode through my chest with emotion.

In that instant, I changed from a man with absolutely no hope at all concerning my lover, to someone with purpose.

She was there, Lenne. My Lenne _was _there, her arms outstretched, and with eyes overflowing with love an warmth.

She was alright. She was safe. She was here.

For a moment, I couldn't speak. I didn't know how else to get my feelings out, other than holding Lenne.

I stepped back, and jumped over the edge of the huge balcony, keeping my eyes fixed on my lover the whole time.

I landed on the floor of the hangar.

What happened next, felt like it all happened in slow-motion.

We ran towards each other. In just those few seconds before we made physical contact in what felt like years, images of my life with Lenne flashed before my eyes, clear as day. I pushed them away.

Right now, I wanted nothing more than to hold Lenne, give her the protection I knew she loved, keep her warm and safe in my arms. I wanted to give her what she hadn't had in so long. And I wanted it to be in the present, not the past.

Lenne flung herself in my arms, and I held her tightly, refusing to let go, and I knew she would never want me to.

Lenne clung herself onto me, clinging to my more than I could ever recall her clinging to me before.

Lenne. She was...in my arms again.

"Shuyin...oh, Shuyin." She sounded as if she too, didn't know how to say what she felt.

I felt how her warm tears fell on my shoulder. I held her tighter, letting my hand go up and down her back in a soothing motion. I wanted her to know I was here, that I would never leave her, that I would never let anyone hurt her. Especially now, after all we'd been through without each other.

"Lenne...I'll never let anyone separate us again." I whispered, holding her, protecting her.

I felt her lips meet the back of my neck. Her soft lips. I hadn't felt them in so long.

She moved her head, and looked at me, her eyes overflowing with love and care.

But at the same time, I felt how her hands shook slightly against my shoulders.

"Lenne, what's wrong?" I asked her, ready to protect her from anyone, anything.

"Shuyin...there's something I want you to know. When I was at the frontlines, I started to get sick. I threw up, and I had trouble eating and sleeping. It didn't go away, and it didn't feel like any normal sickness. So I started to think. I got a strimmel for checking pregnancies."

I gasped at this, and my eyes widened. Was Lenne really gonna tell me what I thought she would?

"The strimmel turned blue." She said, looking as if she was finding it hard to say what she wanted.

"Shuyin...I'm carrying...our baby." Lenne said after what felt like an eternety.

My mind spun around at these words. Lenne, me. Parents. I couldn't take it in.

"That's why I left like that. I didn't want to give birth to our baby on the frontlines. I wanted to see you, and I wanted us to be together in the birth of our child, so I left, leaving for home. But when I reached our house, I saw that you'd left. I searched for notes, or messages, thinking that, by a miracle, that you'd left a message telling me where you'd gone. But I found nothing. I had this feeling that something had happened to you, so I left with Valefor. I thought that you were headed for the northern parts of Zanarkand, where Bevelle first invaded, so I went there."

I looked into Lenne's eyes. They looked worried now, as if she was afraid something would happen.

"But when I reached the northern parts of Zanarkand, I saw only enormous Bevellian airships with hundreds of rockets under them. I saw one of them take off, and I followed the airship on Valefor, thinking that it was headed for Bevelle. I thought that...I would find clues to where you'd gone if I went there. When I arrived, I saw this temple, and a group of Soldiers around a huge tank with a cage in it. The Soldiers were standing in a tight circle around someone. Then I saw them enter the temple, forcing the prisoner in with them. I decided to enter the temple from anywhere but the main entrance, so I started searching. Until I found a small door at the back of the temple. I entered it, and after many hours of searching I found this hangar, and heard a man speaking in a room nearby. I could hear him speaking through the wall.

He was interrogating a person from Zanarkand. And then I knew...I just knew that the person he was talking to...was you. Especially when I heard a much lower voice saying he was searching for his lover.

I got so happy, Shuyin. It made me so happy to know you were there. I wanted nothing more but to break through the wall, and find you there. But Valefor told me I should wait until the man had stopped interrogating you, so I did. And I found you. I'd never thought I'd ever...see you again."

Lenne's story finished. I looked at her, unable to say to what she'd done. It hadn't even occured to me, not until I saw Valefor and Shiva, that Lenne could be searching for me.

"Shuyin...our baby...-" My Lenne never got to say what she wanted to say.

Suddenly, the entire hangar got filled with a bright light, and I heard loud footsteps approaching fast.

I held Lenne tightly, trying to give her all of me, in what I somehow knew, would be the last moment we shared.

The entrance door to the hangar burst open. I looked at the Bevellian Soldiers standing there, their Machina weapons pointed straight at me and Lenne. Hatred towards those bastards, and a terrible sadness over that it would end this way flowed through me. The Bevellians stood there, without firing. I looked at them, a furious expression on my face.

They didn't fire. I looked into Lenne's face. She was looking at me. She looked so...scared and sad. It broke my heart to see her like this.

How could it come to this? Hadn't I just heard her say she was going to have a baby?

I felt so sad inside. Lenne tried, but just barely; She managed the slightest of smiles, her eyes showing love, sorrow and caring all the way. She really loved me. And I couldn't protect her.

"I love you." I heard her whisper. We would die. I saw that now. But at least...it would be together.


End file.
